Finding great talent is easier said than done…

Sam Phillips, chief new business and marketing officer, Omnicom Media Group, UK, on the importance of finding and investing in pioneering talent…

Finding great talent – at all levels – continues to be fundamental to Omnicom Media Group UK’s business success. But finding this great talent is easier said than done. Even at the entry level stage – be that graduate or school leaver.

Despite the weight of available potential employees, it remains as difficult as ever to find people with the right quotients of intellect, emotional intelligence, digital savvy and drive to thrive in our agencies.

But on top of looking for all those attributes, these days we’re also looking to employ people across a far greater realm of skill-bases than ever before… think data specialists, search gurus, content experts, econometricians… and I could keep going.

So the IPA’s Creative Pioneers challenge, designed to help its agencies hand-pick talent from a pre-selected pool has gone down a storm at Omnicom Media Group, UK.

Of the IPA’s 581 shortlisted candidates 47 were subsequently offered internships or apprenticeships, with a further 51 being offered ‘business support’. And we’re proud to say that Omnicom Media Group, UK is responsible for the hiring of five of those 47 potential stars of the future and that we have also committed to giving ‘business support’ to five of the 51.

In terms of whom we have offered positions to, and why, I’ll focus in on two individuals. One lady – Phoebe Yates – has already started at OMD as a search intern. OMD’s people team manager – Tiana Carniel – said: “Phoebe got the job because she was enthusiastic, showed a real keenness to understand more about our media agency world and clearly conveyed how much she’d value this opportunity.”

And already things appear promising for Phoebe – “getting the internship at OMD has been a huge step for me. I feel very fortunate to work here and have loved my first two weeks and have learnt a lot already. I also think that getting an SEO role will set a precedent for the rest of my career and hope to stay and develop my skills after the internship has finished”.

Personally, I am delighted to say that this Creative Pioneers initiative has delivered exactly what it said it would on the tin by providing me with a very promising employee who will be joining my central new business and marketing team later this year.

When I met her she was still at school, yet I was impressed by her drive, enthusiasm and – dare I say it – her total self-belief that she thought she was good enough to get employed straight away without needing to go to university and rack up a load of debt.

I went into the day looking for a creative, enthusiastic individual who had a genuine interest in business and the role that sales and marketing plays – and I found one. So we’ll give her a three-month internship to prove her mettle (not forgetting that this sort of arrangement will always be two-way as she’ll have three months to deduce whether our industry suits her, or not).

And no matter what happens after these three months have passed, she will have gained useful work skills and garnered invaluable experience in working with some of our most senior business leaders.

Omnicom Media Group, UK is confident about our investment in IPA Creative Pioneers talent and we’re very excited to be involved in kick-starting so many hopefully glorious careers. So hats off to the IPA / Metro for making this happen… and if it’s good enough for Ed Vaizey MP, minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries to eulogise about (as he did at a celebratory lunch for successful candidates on 19 July), it’s good enough for us at Omnicom Media Group, UK to fully endorse too.

Good luck to all companies who have or will have IPA Creative Pioneer talent in their businesses soon – no one of our companies can change the world for every jobless school-leaver or graduate, but each of our businesses can change the world for one person. Just a thought.

For more information about the Creative Pioneers Challenge, click here.